74 - a red-red thoughts-red thoughts-red thoughts-red thoughts

The monster that appeared unexpectedly was an opponent that Thor and his team had struggled with before - the evil spirit of red water.

Moreover, it seemed to be several times the size of the previous one.

"Hey!

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"...... probably, it was Rishi."

"......, you still use it?"

The , a skill of the lower branch of the Wind Spirit Tree, is a magical technique that allows one to hide one's appearance by covering oneself with a light-distorting wind.

Moreover, the higher the level, the greater the range of the wind, and the more it can affect the surroundings.

It is a highly versatile technique that can be used to hide friends and traps, but it is ineffective against monsters that do not rely on sight, and it can only be activated when there is no sign of a monster nearby.

"......I thought the effect had worn off with the defeat of our rampaging river horse."

"...... you have been cleverly concealing it by putting it behind you."

It seems that the disappearance of the raindrops around Rishi was a deliberate pretense to keep him from noticing them.

As a proof of this, the staff member of the sub-branch, who had finished scattering the blue pieces, disappeared again as if melting into thin air, with his usual smile that seemed to be stuck to his face.

This time, he seems to have been completely lost in the rain, and we cannot sense his whereabouts at all.

"d*mn, where did it go?"

"You're not going to run away with a big mouth, are you?"

"Oh, my brother, we're in trouble!"

The third son cried out and pointed to the sight of the evil spirit of red water, which was supposed to stay on the stream, but started to move.

Ahead of them were the piles of stones that were the fruit of Roloff and the others' hard work.

No doubt they were aiming at the pieces of rain-crystal stones scattered on the mountains of stones.

The monster stopped moving on top of the pile of stones, ignoring the three brothers who were waving their arms frantically, begging it to stop.

Then, as if trying to capture the blue shards, spikes of water shot out from the sphere.

Sediment splatters loudly, and the top of the stone pile, shot through by the water spikes, crumbles down.

Dialgo groaned in agony as the mass of earth disappeared in a huge column of water on the surface of the river.

The three brothers open their mouths so wide that their jaws seem to fall off, and stare wordlessly at the monster's evil deeds.

The monster, having destroyed the pile of stones, moved horizontally without a sound.

Again, spikes of water shoot out from its body.

"Oh, look!　Tall girl."

"...... Yeah, that's pretty sucky."

Perhaps due to the absorption of the rain crystals, the body of the evil spirit of red water suddenly became about one size larger than before.

The monster, which had also destroyed the second bridge pillar, continued to increase its volume.

The girl was breathless and speechless at the eeriness of the rapidly growing mass of red water as it roamed silently.

But the men who were responsible for the damage were not so sure.

"Do something!　Brother Thor!"

Please, this way!

"Please beat them quickly like you did before. Please!　

Thor returns a calm analysis to Roloff and the others who cling to his waist with clinging faces.

"Calm down. A sword can't cut them into small pieces with that size.

"Well, how about using the freezing spell you just used?"

"If it's Mr. Yuril, he's already used up the number of times he can use it, so that's impossible, too.

Taking this into account, Rishi must have been preparing a two-step plan.

"Hey, Thor! If that monster loves rain crystals, why don't you tell him that we have some over here too?

"That's a good idea, but I'm sure they'll come back after they've absorbed the stone pile first."

The rain crystals that Thor and the others had obtained the other day were of considerable size, but the pieces scattered about were clearly larger than that.

As Thor scratched the bottom of his chin in contemplation, Dialgo's words about freezing combined with the idea of using Sora's rain crystals.

"Well, I've got another magic crystal stone. Sola, come here."

"Yes, sir."

Thor rushes into the tent and talks to Yuril, who is looking better.

I'm sorry, Mr. Uril. May I borrow your staff?"

"Yes, please. Please use it as you like.

The beautiful woman, sitting with her back straight, handed me the cane without asking me what I thought of the situation.

Moe, who had been resting his head on her lap, stood up with a start and asked me a question with shining purple eyes.

"To-chan, are you going to kill that thing?"

"Yeah, let Tor-chan take care of it."

"Yes, I'll take care of it!"

Toll stuck out a clenched fist, and the child hit him with his hand in a goo shape.

Grinning, Thor turned on his heel, and Moe, with a small smile on his face, cheered him on behind him, wearing a glowing blue needle.

With his iron sword lowered in his right hand and the gray stone at the tip of Yuril's staff in his left, Thor jumped to the edge of the pile of stones.

The evil spirit of red water has already cut the four piles of stones in half, and its body has more than doubled in size.

The position of the sphere was so high that it was almost visible above the ground.

"I can't reach my sword with that thing!"

"What are you going to do?　Thor's brother."

Despite Rorolf and the others' concern, Thor lightly crossed the stone mountain and approached.

Thora, clutching her staff, watches anxiously from the riverbank.

Just as Thor jumps over to the next stone pile, the monster shoots out spikes of water one after another.

The thorns are not the same size as before, and their thickness exceeds the circumference of an adult's arm.

If even one thorn pierced through, even Thor would not be able to survive.

The blade flashed at a tremendous speed.

Next, the thorns, which had been turned into mere water by being cut away from the main body, splashed in the air in droplets.

However, only one of the thorns was somehow unharmed.

It did not reach Thor, however, and stayed in the air just before it hit his body.

Thor lightly kicks the stone mountain and leaps up further, using the water thorns as a foothold.

The water thorns grow again.

They are cut off again, and only one of them stops moving in a perfect position.

One after another, Thor's body rises, taking advantage of the water thorns.

Three times, using the water thorns as springboards, Thor finally reaches a place where he can reach the main body.

Four thorns are shot out toward his face, but two of them stop moving, and one of them changes its trajectory and hits the other one.

Not missing the moment of opportunity, Thor's arm, holding the cryolite, is deeply inserted into the body of the evil spirit of red water.

All of the ice magic power that had been sealed up is released, and the surface of the red mass of water freezes with a sound.

But the monster still seems to be able to move.

New spikes of water break through the ice.

--

The broken magic crystal stone is restored and releases cold air again.

Once more.

The red water, frozen by the spines, cracks open and shatters noisily.